Like Windows Phone, Windows 8.x does not get anywhere near the same level of attention as its more popular rivals, Android and iOS, receive from top developers. Still, the app selection has slowly gotten better, thanks in no small part to third-party offerings, reaching the point where it ticks all the right boxes for casual users.

But, Windows Store is also seeing improvements in its selection geared towards professionals. The latest major Modern UI offering to greet Windows 8.x is Autodesk's AutoCAD 360, which arrives as a free preview. This is a huge win for the platform.

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One of the biggest concerns that businesses have about the increasing use of mobiles and BYOD is how to keep their data secure. Traditional security tools were built to cope with desktop devices rather than the on/off existence of mobile connections.

Mobile platform specialist Kinvey aims to help mobile developers to seamlessly secure mobile, tablet, and responsive Web apps with its newly-launched Mobile Identity Connect product.

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When it comes to portable gaming, the iPad and whole ensuing tablet explosion saw the start of a shift away from traditional gaming handhelds, and a new piece of research has underlined this with the news that tablets have now outdone the Nintendo 3DS.

The study from Futuresource Consulting posed over a hundred questions to children aged three to twelve across the UK (and also the US, Germany and China). It found that in the UK, tablets are now the most popular personal device owned by kids -- with 44 percent having a slate, meaning that they've overtaken the 3DS as top gaming dog.

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Communication tools have evolved so much in the past couple of years alone, with developers adding even more features and improving existing ones to allow us to better communicate and understand each other. Improved voice and video calls? Group chats? Instant translations? New, cooler emoticons? You bet!

On the other hand, we have chat app Yo, which, instead of trying to offer more than the rest of the growing pack, is trying to differentiate itself by giving users as little features as possible -- they can only say "Yo". It launched nearly two weeks ago for Android and iOS, and now it arrives on Windows Phone too.

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As we have come to expect from Samsung in the past couple of years, shortly after launching a new flagship Android smartphone, the South Korean maker will also introduce a smaller model sporting similar design traits and less powerful hardware (and, of course, a lower price tag).

This year is no exception as today Samsung takes the wraps off its new Galaxy S5 mini. The smartphone does not push the boundaries of what mini stands for, featuring a decently-sized 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display and physical dimensions on par with comparable handsets. It also does not skimp on Galaxy S5 features, coming with a fingerprint reader on the front and heart rate monitor on the back.

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I’ll be honest, although Windows 8.x losing market share is a shocking state of affairs -- and a new low for an operating system which has struggled since launch -- it’s something that’s been coming for a while. Windows 8 has been dropping share since Windows 8.1 arrived, and Windows 8.1 has been growing at such a glacial pace it was only a matter of time before the losses outweighed the gains, and that’s exactly what happened in June according to NetMarketShare.

In a month where Windows 7 and Windows XP -- the OS that refuses to die -- both gained market share, "new Windows" shifted into reverse gear and began shedding users.

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IBM is opening a new SoftLayer data center in London next month that will be able provide space for over 15,000 physical servers and is part of a $1.2 billion global investment program.

The new data center is the latest of 15 that are being implemented to support the growth in cloud services in Europe and the rest of the world.

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Utilities developer Foolish IT has released dMaintenance Home Edition, a free version of its PC maintenance and cleanup tool.

The program can perform various maintenance tasks, including cleaning up your print queue, browsers (IE, Firefox and Chrome) and hard drive, as well as resetting your browser home page, clearing proxy settings, and resetting your HOSTS file. There’s an option to scan your computer with Windows Defender, and once it’s complete dMaintenance can create a restore point, reboot your PC or just shut it down.

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Amazon is now into the set-top box market, diving in full force to compete with the likes of Roku and Apple TV. Since launching the procduct, the retailer has already released a software update, and now a second is rolling out, but on a gradual program. Some users are reporting having already received it, though not all of us have.

The update takes the software to version 51.1.1, upgrading from the current 51.0.2 and adding music to the mix. This seems logical, given Prime has just added a streaming service. However, according to Dave Zatz, who already has the update, that is surprisingly not included -- an omission that seems a bit strange.

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Technology can be a wonderful thing. We live in quite the glorious time, where we have access to amazing medicines and computers. Science and technology have improved everyone's lives -- rich or poor, man or woman -- we all benefit.

Sadly and scarily, technology can harm us too. We have all become far too dependent on devices like smartphones and utilities like indoor plumbing and electricity. If you want to see the worst of humanity, look no further than a blackout. When there is a large-scale power-outage, society quickly breaks down. Friends and neighbors will turn on each other for a loaf of bread at a local bodega. Today, Symantec announces a malware discovery that targets energy companies, including in the USA. In other words, this malware has the potential to cause chaos and destroy society.

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WinZip has released WinZip for iOS 3.5, a major update to its iOS app for managing zip files on an iPhone or iPad. The latest version of the app, which is heavily discounted to just $1.99 until July 2nd, allows users to zip, extract, encrypt and share zip files safely.

Version 3.5 opens with added support for two new cloud-based storage accounts, with users now able to directly access both Google Drive and OneDrive accounts in addition to Dropbox.

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Speaking at a press event as part of Samsung's Business Discovery Day, Jae Shin, the vice president of Samsung's Knox mobile security business group, said that wearable devices will take off with or without Apple's help.

Historically, the hype surrounding the launch of a new Apple product has provided the kick-start for interest in a new type of technology. This has previously been the case for smartphones and tablet computers, thanks to the iPhone and iPad, respectively.

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Everybody is gaga over the friggin' cloud. Sure, I love the convenience of the cloud too -- I backup my precious family photos to Google Drive just in case. The cloud should not be anyone's sole means of backup however, and if it is, there should be redundancy between 2 or 3 services.

For my important files, I do not trust the cloud exclusively. Believe it or not, I still like to use optical media as a backup medium. However, I no longer use CD or DVD, but 50GB Blu-ray disks. Pricey? Yes, but worth it. In addition to optical media, I also use flash drives, but only ones of quality and performance. In the past, I have had luck with Silicon Power products, and that company announces the M70 flash drive -- super fast and super sexy.

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One welcome addition to Windows 8 was its ability to mount ISO images. If you need to explore the contents of an ISO, just double-click the file and it opens in a virtual Explorer drive, where you can browse, play and generally treat it like the original disc. This works very well, too, but there may still be times when you need a little more drive management power.

GBurner Virtual Drive is a free tool which can also mount ISO images in virtual drives. In addition, you get support for another 20+ formats (ASHDISC, DAA, DMG, IMG, NRG and more). You’re able to mount up to 16 images simultaneously, and these can be loaded automatically when your PC starts, so they’re always available.

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Worldwide IT spending is on track to reach $3.7 trillion, an increase of 2.1 percent in 2014, according to new figures released by research specialists Gartner. However, this is down on earlier projections which put this year's growth at 3.2 percent.

The slower growth outlook is down due to a reduction in growth expectations for devices, data center systems and to some extent IT services. The value of the devices market -- which includes PCs, mobile phones, tablets and printers -- is predicted to grow by 1.2 percent over last year. This is partly due to lower prices. As tablet adoption reaches 50 percent in US households, Gartner forecasts sales of high-end tablets dropping as new buyers are attracted by lower priced units.

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